A01=Justin M. Jacobs
Albert von Le Coq
antiquities dealers
archaeologists
artefact acquisition
Aurel Stein
Author_Justin M. Jacobs
Benin Bronzes
British Museum
Buddhist antiquities
Category=GLZ
Category=NH
Chiang Kai-shek
Chinese elites
Cleopatra's Needles
criminalization discourse
cultural continuity
Cultural Revolution
diplomatic gifting
diplomatic gifts
Duanfang
Duanfang bronzes
Dunhuang manuscripts
Egyptian elites
Egyptian obelisks
Elgin Marbles
Enlightenment
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
excavation laws
excavations
expeditions
fellah
fellahin
Flinders Petrie
Forbidden City
Giovanni Belzoni
Heinrich Schliemann
Hoa Hakananai'a
Howard Carter
imperialism
imperialist plunder
Indiana Jones
John D. Rockefeller
Longmen Grottoes
Memnon Head
Metropolitan Museum of Art
military plunder
moai statues
Mogao Caves
Mogao Grottoes
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Napoleon
native elites
obelisks
oracles bones
Ottoman Empire
Parthenon
Paul Pelliot
Priam's Treasure
Qing dynasty
religious relics
sarcophagus
Seti I
Song dynasty artefacts
subsistence diggers
Tang dynasty
The MET
theft
tomb raiding
tourism industry
Tutankhamun
vandalism
Western archaeologists
Western elites
Product details
- ISBN 9781836391081
- Dimensions: 129 x 198mm
- Publication Date: 22 Sep 2025
- Publisher: Reaktion Books
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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In this thought-provoking work, historian Justin M. Jacobs challenges the widely accepted belief that many of Western museums’ treasures were acquired by imperialist plunder and theft. His account re-examines the allegedly immoral provenance of Western collections, advocating for a nuanced understanding of how artefacts reached Western shores. Jacobs examines the perspectives of Chinese, Egyptian and other participants in the global antiquities trade over the past two and a half centuries, revealing that Western collectors were often willingly embraced by locals. This collaborative dynamic, largely ignored by contemporary museum critics, unfolds a narrative that may lead to hope and promise for a brighter, more equitable future.
Justin M. Jacobs is Professor of History at American University, Washington, DC. His books include The Compensations of Plunder: How China Lost Its Treasures (2020).
